If what he had was so good to offer I'm perplexed at why other teams didn't take this "small risk"?

Fact is many people here (not you in particular altho you could be one) viewed Alexander Semin as "additon by subtraction" for the mere reason that he didn't give a rats arse on the ice sometimes and thus was locker room cancer.

Not sure why Wolski is different in this sense. he's a slacker with a fraction of the talent Semin has at a fraction of the cost. Either way he can't be good for the locker room can he?

600k may not sound like much but these things add up. I remember 99% of the board said the same thing about the Brian Pothier signing a few years back to which I disagreed. By the 3rd and 4th year of that deal it DID have an effect on us. Every little bit counts.

Wolski is a waste of space IMO. Despite him bing "cheap" he can have a divisive effect in the locker room. If you believed this about Semin then you better believe it about Wolski.

There is a huge reason why teams were not lining up to sign this guy.

Dumpster diving at its finest ala Kiwi, Doig and Gruden. Remember those names?

If the Caps plan on having a full roster, the difference between Wolski's deal and the league minimum is $75k. Sure, little things add up, but to even call $75k a little thing is a stretch.